Buyer Behavior pt 2

Alexis Coelho: Busy graduate student in PA school. Her schedule demands that she spend full days on campus between classes, laboratories and study groups. She usually leaves the house around 8 AM and does not return until 6PM. Although she usually packs food to bring with her, it is frequent that she will be rushed in the morning when attempting to pack and doesn’t do adequate preparation. She usually purchases food from the cafeteria and coffee shops around campus throughout the day as she is either too hungry for what she brought or wants something different. As she is a graduate student and semi-dependent on her parents, she is would need to involve them in her purchasing decisions surrounding food. They set budgets each month and likely she would need to explain what this would offer in order to change her lifestyle greatly. Inexpensive and fast options are the most important factors for her daily lunch. 

Jackie Coffey: Analyst for Florida Blue Cross. Typically, she packs something small to eat at work with the intention to purchase food from the cafeteria at work throughout the day. As her day progresses, she rarely has time to leave her office and head down to the cafeteria and often wishes she had packed food to bring with her. This has been a trend for the bulk of her career and yet never seems to place much weight on solving the problem. She simply does without eating, even at the cost of her health. When thinking about what to eat for lunch, she typically is looking for something quick as she does not have a structured break and any time away means she must stay later to make up for it. Thus, it is common for her to work through lunch. The cafeteria seems to be the only place that she considers purchasing food, although she doesn’t feel the food is great. It’s mediocre but it’s close and saves her time, which is the most important thing.

Susan Bach: Paralegal. Susan brings lunch everyday to work although she often leaves to grab food from the cafeteria that is more desirable, after eating some of her packed food. She at first says that she packs lunch before backtracking to include her other spending. She has a cafeteria in her office building and works in an area with many quick restaurants close by. She feels that money is well spent if it is on nutritious, good tasting food. She says that there are some healthy alternatives around and she sometimes will chose those; she seems to feel strongly that the healthiest option would always be to bring her own food and stick to that. 

My segment identified are busy individuals who need to eat and move on to the next task midday. These people are typically not eating for enjoyment and often skip lunch altogether. Based on my interviews, it seems that most people make this decision relatively quickly because there is a low cost investment (approximately $10 per day) and for many this is an independent decision. The only exception to this would seem to be Alexis who consults her budget with others, and thus would need more approval before making a larger lifestyle change. It seems that although these are relatively low risk decisions, there are clear patterns of behavior over time— many including an overwhelming sense of dissatisfaction and discouragement around eating in the middle of the day. To all three, lunch seems to be an inconvenience rather than enjoyable and I found this to be true in my last three interviews as well, implying that it is consistent for my segment. Customers in this segment purchase food in person at their local cafeterias or nearby restaurants and usually stick with location and ease as their most limiting factors. Price doesn’t seem to be a deterrent for many; time seems to be the greatest commodity to preserve. 

What's Your Secret Sauce?

What is your Secret Sauce? What will make you successful?

1) I believe I provide great care to my work, in a way that not everyone does. While I am not a complete perfectionist, I value work and want to always provide quality. I am continuously looking for ways to innovate and solve problems in my own life and for others. I believe I am good at reading people and could easily evaluate how to engage people personally. I am practical, and at times pragmatic-- I want to provide value and not waste people's time. I am highly critical, which at times can appear cynical but it is usually stemming from the desire for efficiency.

2) Polly Barnes, mother

https://soundcloud.com/avery-barnes101/new-recording-3

Polly commented that I am intentional with relationships and encourage others to grow through their weaknesses and promote their strengths. Awareness to detail and recalling information as it was, rather than how we remember it to be both are assets in personal reflection.

Alec Barnes, brother

https://soundcloud.com/avery-barnes101/new-recording

Alec described that my greatest asset is my self awareness of my own strengths and weaknesses. I understand the process all the way through, down to the bolts, before claiming to understand it outwardly. I also recognize when to defer to people who are better suited for a task.

Abbey Barnes, sister

https://soundcloud.com/avery-barnes101/new-recording-4

Abbey articulates that I am a strong problem solver in other people's lives due to my experience with people of other ages and stages of life. Additionally, I am able to reason with and approach people much different than myself.

Caitlyn Parente, friend

https://soundcloud.com/avery-barnes101/caitlyn-parente-interview

Caitlyn expresses that I am thoughtful and able to consider a perspective that is not my own. I am loyal to others and ideas through and through. Ultimately, I am fiercely honest, even when it is difficult to hear or deliver. 

Olivia Berens, friend

https://soundcloud.com/avery-barnes101/olivia-berens-interview

Olivia describes that my attention to detail and fixed attention span allows me to obsess over something and commit it to mastery. I also can use emotional reasoning often, a rare skill that can also allow others to express theirs as well. 

3)  

I believe that I see myself maybe more harshly than other people view me. While I feel very pragmatic and occasionally crass, others seem to see this as a strength more than a deficit. Although I think this would produce a good product, I think I would have predicted it could make me difficult to work with or under; my community seems to denounce this. It was validated that I am a strong problem solver and actively look for solutions to problems rather than allow them to stay problematic. I would probably add to my list that I am a details person and want to understand a system fully before speaking on it or promoting it. I want to understand the "why" behind everything before I am comfortable expressing opinion or commentary. 

Halfway Reflection

1) Tenaciousness is a competency. What are the behaviors that you have used (or developed) to keep up with the requirements of this course? 

Through this course I have discovered the value in preparation. This class structure has been counter to many of my recent courses in the high volume of deliverables. Many of my other classes in college have only required 3 exams for a semester’s worth of content. This course has challenged me to look ahead each week and prepare in order to stay ahead. Each assignment has required me to brainstorm and revise it to provide the best quality work. Usually my first idea for a solution was not as good as it could have been but with revising I could come up with something great that I was proud of. 

2) Tenaciousness is also about attitude. Talk about a moment or two when you felt like "giving up." What pulled you through? Do you feel like you've developed a tenacious attitude during the past two months? What experience or experiences most contributed to this?

I had forgotten about an assignment that was due on Friday at noon until 10pm the night before. I was scrambling to deliver my product and absolutely felt like I should just ignore the assignment and take a zero. I was motivated to push through and exercise tenacity based on the nature of the deliverables. Each assignment builds on the one previous, as we establish a business plan over the entire course. As such, each assignment is necessary as it serves as a building block for the next. This inspired me to push through and provide quality work, rather than accept a zero for a dumb mistake. 

3) Three tips. What are three tips you would offer next semester's student about (1) fostering the skills that support tenacity and (2) developing the 'tenacious mindset' ?

I would recommend staying in communication with your professor and asking any questions or thoughts about the material, even if they seem minor. I have reached out to Prof Pryor on multiple occasions with minor questions related to lecture that I would likely have just raised my hand to ask in class but, under normal circumstances, wouldn’t warrant an email. Because of the online structure of class this semester, I wanted to challenge myself to stay as engaged as I would have been in a traditional classroom model and I feel that this has helped me extensively. I would also advise people to pay close attention to the lectures and watch them ahead of the assignments so you know the direction you should be thinking in. I think I would have saved myself a lot of time if I had known and committed to an opportunity that was feasible earlier than I officially declared. Finally, I would encourage people to reflect on their interactions with others in their interviews, but also not take those too personally. I had a few uncomfortable interviews where I was convinced I was bothering the person and it shot my confidence. Ultimately, recognize that people who don’t want to talk or aren’t giving you the information you need does not impact you in the long run and plenty of people were more willing to help when they understood you are a student conducting research, not selling them.

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior

Figuring Out Buyer Behavior

My business model is to present customers with weekly prepared meals, ideal for week day lunches and avoids the stress of trying to figure out what to eat in the middle of the day.Although there are many reasons to draw one to my business (ie. desire to eat healthier, save money/stick to budget), I will be focusing on the segment that utilizes my services to eliminate the need to make additional choices throughout the day. 

Interviews:

Amy Tran: Around 1 pm at weekdays at the office, she realizes that she does not have anything packed and is beginning to get hungry for lunch. She continues to work, debating where she would like to potentially order food from, turning to delivery apps like Grubhub to search available restaurants. In the midst of this indecision, she continues to get phone calls at her desk and gets interrupted from her search. More time passes and suddenly it’s 3 pm. Amy usually leaves the office for home around 4:15 and decides to push through eating candy at her desk because now there is no use in taking a break to eat. 

Brian McCormick: Around noon on weekdays, Brian begins to get hungry for lunch. He is always rushed in the morning getting ready because he has a long commute to work and must leave before 7:30am. As a result, he never seems to pack lunch although he intends to, figuring he will just grab something later in the day. He works downtown in a large building with a large cafeteria for his entire building. Unfortunately the line always takes forever and the commotion in the cafeteria irritates him. He regrets yet again that he has not done something different. 

Glen Barnes: Glen starts to get hungry for lunch later in the morning on week days. He drives for the majority of the day everyday doing contracted jobs. He typically sees billboards of the food at rest stops and makes a decision on what to eat of lunch that way. Sometimes these stops are not convenient to when he would like to eat, depending on where he is driving for the day. He has never brought food with him (working for 40ish years) because he doesn’t ever take the time in the morning to pack. 

From these interviews, I gather that all three continue to feel a discouragement midday that they had not figured out something else to do for lunch. Although they don’t feel the need for food until midday, in order to address their problems they would need to use more forethought, even if it didn't require work ahead of time. They would need to become aware of their need not in the middle of the day but potentially the weekend before so they could make a better plan for the week. It seems that all three could benefit from a prepared service because the flexibility of chasing what they would like day-by-day actually forces them to procrastinate the choice. For Amy, this means she doesn’t often eat. For Brian, he is left unsatisfied. For Glen, he cannot eat right away when he would like as he is on the road and must wait for restaurants to become available. This group all seems to be willing to pay more for ease and they are primarily eating to satisfy hunger, not necessarily for enjoyment. 

Idea Napkin No 1

I believe that my business model, a delivery based meal preparation service, is reaffirmed by my passions and interests in many ways. As the daughter of a professional caterer, I have grown up in the kitchen watching my mother prepare for many large scale catering events. This experience not only taught me about methods of food preparation, but it taught me the art and detail that goes into presentation and offering quality services. Being thorough and paying attention to detail is what brought customers back to my mother's business again and again. I mention that I am from the Midwest both comedically and legitimately-- I credit this upbringing to my pragmatic nature today. I don't anticipate that customers will spend any amount for overwhelming luxury everyday. In fact, I am confident they won't. What customers want and would benefit from would be clean, professional, quality without frills and extra expense.

Reading Reflection #1 - Grinding it Out by: Ray Kroc

In his work, Grinding it Out, Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald’s Corporation describes his life and struggle through entrepreneurship before creating this international empire that we all know today. 

From a young age, Kroc seemed to demonstrate a lot of qualities that many help entrepreneurs thrive. He was not very motivated by school, as it seemed abstract and not very important to the “real world”, leading him to drop out of school early in search of work experience. He was inspired by money, but seemed to follow many “get rich quick” ideas and he changed jobs almost with the tides. Through this, he gathered a wide breadth of knowledge that ultimately landed him in sales. I admired his creativity and the priority he placed on customer relations, exhibited during his work with the paper cup manufacturer Lily Cup. Kroc worked as a salesman for this company all across the country, but predominantly in his hometown of Chicago. Kroc’s ability to fit his customer’s specific needs allowed him to become a wealth of knowledge for them and increase his sales dramatically. He gives many examples of the specific product he could sell to clients, ie. special sizes for desserts and pastries versus lined cups for milkshakes. This adaptability really struck me as he seemed to know his product inside and out.

Although he was clearly revered by many and wildly talented, I struggled to get past Kroc’s overwhelming arrogance. One instance in particular that bothered me to learn about arose during the Great Depression. At this time, Kroc was working for Lily Cup and they, as all were at that time, suffering greatly financially. Kroc was called into a meeting with his supervisor where his supervisor reluctantly informed him of a 20% pay cut that would impact the entire company. Kroc was wildly animated and told the supervisor that he refused this pay cut and would leave the company if he was unable to maintain his pay. Although some may view this as persistent, this demonstration of his character revealed to me that Kroc was not loyal to a company that had supported him for many years. I value company loyalty and this outburst made me dislike Kroc even more. 

Ray Kroc experienced failure a number of times, including during the housing bubble of Fort Lauderdale in the 1920’s. At this time, Florida was on the rise in popularity and Kroc was desperate to get in on the action. He moved his family to Fort Lauderdale for approximately six months until this industry dried up and investors ceased spending. He was left with nothing and was forced to head back to Chicago. When these setbacks happened, Kroc was resilient and always quick to find something else.

Kroc had many attributes that made him widely successful. He was savvy with his per diem, explaining that if he could sleep at cheaper hostel-style hotels and eat food at the YMCA, he could pocket the difference of his stipend. He was also clearly charismatic, as he was willing to convince the McDonald’s brothers to agree for him to franchise their business within a single conversation. He also was well-liked by his employees as many came to the McDonald’s corporation before he was able to pay them legitimate salaries. He was also ambitious and restless; he always had his eyes on the next business venture and this in many ways kept him ahead of the curve. 

I was confused why he included information about his personal life in this memoir. He continued to describe how this job took him away from his wife and daughter, to the point that they ultimately separated. From the narrative that he provided, he seemed to have abandoned these people in order to get ahead in his career. While this is wildly personal information, I am curious and confused as to why he would include this in his own book given that it makes him look a bit neglectful. 

If I could ask Ray Kroc anything, I would ask him to describe further how he vetted employees and operators of McDonald’s locations. I have recently read Truett Cathy’s memoir on the founding of Chick-Fil-A and in this book he described in detail this selection process and how he decided which applicants would be successful operators, and thus who he should accept. I would be curious to know what process Ray Kroc used. Additionally, I would like to ask Ray Kroc if he would have been interested in taking on the McDonald’s brother’s franchising had they demonstrated more enthusiasm about this process. From the first conversation with the McDonald’s brothers, it seemed that they were happy with their current business model, a single store and a few other restaurant locations. When Ray asked about franchising, they both seemed to think this was more hassle than it was worth. Ray then countered this by offering to franchise for them, at which point they agreed. Ultimately, Ray seemed to avoid involving the McDonald’s brother’s as much as possible, leading me to wonder if he preferred them as more “silent partners” in his venture. 

I believe Ray Kroc would argue that hard work is the only way to survive in a “dog eat dog” world. While I agree with this a bit, I reject the way he seemed to value being scrappy, rather than honoring those in business who helped him along the way. He provided an anecdote that his secretary was working so hard she had missed every birthday and graduation of her two young sons, but in the same sentence declared that she probably thought it was worth it because she was wealthy today. Although hard work is important, I reject that he felt everything, including doing right by people, was expendable in order to achieve success. 

Elevator Pitch 1

Elevator Pitch 1

Testing the Hypothesis Part 2

Testing the Hypothesis Part 2:

Interviews:

Samantha McCormick: Works as a full time fertility specialist for leader dogs for the Blind in southeastern Michigan. She packs lunch most days and works at a facility far from home, thus she can’t ever come home for lunch. She doesn’t usually leave mid day as her shifts are too busy and it often feels like a waste of time. She will typically pack something simple ie. leftovers from previous meals or a sandwich and makes do until she can get home. She would like to be better at cooking but feels she needs a lot of instruction to make it enjoyable. 

Polly Ford: Works as a paralegal at a local law firm with three grown children. Packs lunch daily and usually packs the same thing so she can buy bulk items without wasting much food. Although she would like to eat something different everyday, the cost and selection encourages her to keep packing and bringing lunch. She does eat out occasionally as a treat or because she has forgotten to bring substantial food for the day. She hated packing her children’s lunches was discouraged because lots of food was wasted. Her husband eats at home, stops for food or doesn’t eat. As long as the prep is not too treacherous, she would be interested in having someone else cook for her, however she would like it to be simple and not too treacherous. Prepackaged meal kits offer a lot of variety but are a ton of work and she would not be interested in this for her mid day meal. Under $10 per meal she would consider but otherwise she is not interested.

Lauren Frith: Mother of 3 young children, works part time. She is able to work from home bit with her job and works at the office the other days. She moderately enjoys cooking and typically packs food or at least substantial snacks for her days in the office. Typically she works with colleagues who leave for lunch and she doesn’t like to leave at this time to go get food because she has more scheduled lunch breaks. Doesn’t think that she would be interested in spending money to have someone else prepare this meal for her because its pretty easy to throw things together and she is often home or close to home throughout her days.

Amy Tran: Single, works more than full time as a paralegal and case manager. Occasionally she takes leftover food for lunch but often does not bring anything. Doesn’t feel that it is worth the hassle to go find food and simply just keeps working until it is time to go home and figure out something there for dinner. She would be interested in having someone prep meals for her to avoid having to make the decisions about what to eat and not have to leave to go find something. She is moderately concerned with eating healthy food but would really prefer to eat good tasting food, not a sandwich packed from home. Likely she would forget to place the order every week if it was not set up for her though— could see this being a hassle.

Josh Jardin: Husband with two children. Works at a financial office close to home but travels during the day to meetings. He never brings food with him and instead comes home for lunch almost daily. He prefers to get out of the office on days that he can an likes to come home throughout the day to check in on his kids (particularly in the summer when they are home alone). This provides a nice break in his day. Typically eats whatever is in the fridge and already pretty much assembled ie. frozen meals or leftovers.

Inside the boundary vs. Outside the boundary:

Inside the Boundary-

Who is In:  Busy professionals who work outside the home, people who would like to eat good food and are willing to pay for quality meals. These people may eat out habitually.

What the Need Is: Lunch that is thought through already. Something that is consistently tasteful, healthy and offers variety to break a rut of “easy” foods.

Why the Need Exists: People often don’t want to make another choice when lunch time comes or dislike the process of picking out what to make. 

Outside the Boundary-

Who is Not: Busy individuals who work at home or have the flexibility to stop home. People who have very strict dietary restrictions or are incredibly picky eaters. 

What the Need Is Not: People worried about saving money by eating out. 

Alternative Explanations: People are lazy or dislike cooking. People prefer the break throughout the day to leave and get food. People may prefer the restaurants they eat at or socializing with coworkers during this time. Some people really do like eating the same thing every day and would not be interested in variety. People may not want to spend the money on food or fear it would get wasted. 

Solving the Problem - Assignment 8

Solving the Problem:

Opportunity: Busy adults who struggle to make time to prepare and eat lunches everyday, forcing them to waste money at restaurants for unhealthy food. These decisions are made typically out of convenience, not desire.

Product or Service: A lunch style meal prep service, designed to provide healthy and enjoyable meals to people struggling to fulfill these personal goals. The kits would likely be sold to be customizable to dietary restrictions and number of family members, making it feasible for multi family homes as well.